Monday, September 24, 2007

She ran away....

at least she didn't go far though. Em had a very bad morning. Let me back up a minute...

JP had a tough day yesterday. Not sure what his problem was or what started off the bad day but he had picked his nose until it bled Sat night. Then Sunday am - he peed in his pants in bed right after he had been in the bathroom! The rest of the day was a struggle for all involved. Emilee had a great day yesterday. She was polite and listened to all we asked her to do. I was supposed to go see a friend of mine who lives in Denver, CO and was back to ND for the weekend and hubby was going to come with me (yep - i still don't want to leave him). We were going to get a babysitter. Well with how JP was acting, we couldn't leave him with anyone so Hubby decided he would just stay home and I could go alone. I didn't want to do that for several reasons (weather forecast being one of them) so I called my friend and told her I wouldn't be able to make it. I guess I realized yesterday that as a parent you don't always get to do what you want to do. The kids really do run your life. I really couldn't justify leaving Hubby home with the kids acting like JP was - he was hitting/kicking at us all day and I didn't want him to hit/kick Hubby when he's still healing from last week. So I stayed home. During nap time (yes we are MEAN parents and make them nap when they are being naughty on the weekends) Hubby also brought up a good point. We seem to get a lot of "monkey see- monkey do" when one of them is acting up. The other one has to get the same attention and usually has a bad day the following day.

Hubby said, "You know how Emilee is going to act at bedtime tonight - don't you?" Me: Yep - guess I do. Just wish we would be wrong about it

Well bedtime came and we weren't wrong. She started in with her naughty behavior. It wasn't like she didn't get any attention during the day. I made a point to tell her all the things she was doing well during the day and thank her for all the help she gave to us but I guess it wasn't the type of attention she wanted. We finally got her to bed about 1 hour after she originally was supposed to lay down. She had finally figured out that she was not going to get anywhere with daddy so she may as well go to bed.

Well that brings us to this morning. She got up on the wrong side of the bed from the get go (keep in mind her bed is up against the wall so there is only one side she can get off and today that was the wrong side!). She refused to eat her cereal so after sitting at the table for 10 minutes and only eating 3 bites I told her I would give her 5 minutes to finish her breakfast and after that - she was outta luck and would have to wait for lunch time. Needless to say the last minute the timer was running she was shoveling the food into her mouth. She got most of the cereal in her before I made her put her bowl away (like maybe she had 2 bites left). Everything I asked her to do - she did the opposite and i just let it slide for the most part. I didn't want to give in to her little attention seeking that she was trying. She threatened to run away and I just ignored her. (remember - they threaten all the time and they are only 6&5)

Then I went to use the bathroom and when I came out I asked JP where his sister was and he said "I don't know". I looked all over the house and then went outside and yelled for her. She didn't come around. I then noticed her peeking at me from behind our cat/dog house (it's 7 feet tall). I took her her school bag (as the bus was coming down the road) and told her to have a good day at school and we would talk about her behavior tonight. Here's how our conversation went:

Me: Emilee - here's your school bag. You DO NOT EVER hide from me again. You know better. Em: I'm sorry mom.ME: I'm sorry doesn't cut it Emilee Rayanna! You had me scared. Have a good day at school and we will talk about this tonight with daddy.Em: I'm not going to school.Me: Yes you are.Em: You can't make me.Me: Here is the bus. You are getting on it and going to school.Em: I'm sick - i can't go to school.Me; You are not sick. Now go get on the bus (remember - she just told me "I'm sorry" about 30 seconds before this)Em: I'll just run away from school and you won't know where I amMe: (taking her hand and walking /almost dragging her to the bus) Good Morning Mrs Bus Driver - Emilee is having a bad morning and would like to sit right behind you today. Please be sure she gets off the bus in the right place.Bus Driver: Good morning Mrs. NDFosterMom. I would love to have Emilee sit right behind me today. I will be sure Mrs. B (principal) walks Emilee to her classroom. (Smileing at me the whole time!)Me; Thank you. (Giving Em a kiss on the forehead) have a good day dear. We'll see you tonight.

I then went in the house and called my bil before he got on the bus to have him keep an eye on her on the bus for me. I also called the school and gave them a heads up and then her sw and let her know.

Man she had me scared to death this morning when I couldn't find her. They both have threatened to run away when they are mad at us but this is the first time she has done it and now I worry that JP will try it next time he is mad. UGH! Kids! I can't wait to get them into a routine of therapy! They need it so bad.

I just called the school and talked to the secretary. She said Em was very calm when she was in the office this am with the principal. She also told me she would call me back after lunch and let me know how she was doing. I am just so worried about her. What are we going to do if she starts this running away stuff??? I don't know if I can handle that? We've been getting notes from the teacher quite frequently. I don't want her labeled as the "trouble/problem" child. UGH!!!! Stress is not something I handle too well right now.